From left, University of Vermont sophomores Joseph Levenson, 19, Cameron Rivers, 20, and Zachary Schaab, 19, all pleaded not guilty to one count of burglary Tuesday in Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington on Tuesday April 10, 2012. / EMILY McMANAMY, Free Press

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As students described it, Redstone Lofts was not just a residence hall under construction. It was also a place to hold drinking parties.

That was the picture that emerged in court papers filed Tuesday upon the arraignment of three University of Vermont sophomores accused of breaking into Redstone Lofts last week. An early-morning vandalism spree April 3 caused an estimated $50,000 damage to the building.

The students told police after their arrest that they were not alone in the building when they got there, but that by the time police arrived, the 15-20 other people had left through a hole in the fence that surrounds the construction site.

Tuesday in Chittenden Superior Court, the three students each pleaded not guilty to one count of burglary.

Joseph Levenson, 19; Cameron Rivers, 20; and Zachary Schaab, 19, made brief appearances with their attorneys before Judge James R. Crucitti. He ordered each of them to be assessed by month’s end for alcohol use, and he acceded to their lawyers’ requests that they be permitted to finish out the school year, which ends May 11, and to continue living in UVM residence halls on the Redstone campus. Schaab and Levenson are roommates.

Their conditions of release prohibit them from going onto Redstone Lofts premises and from buying or consuming alcohol. Through their lawyers, all three declined comment after the hearing.

“Mr. Levenson has never been in trouble before,” Rob Sussman, Levenson’s lawyer, told the judge. “This experience has sobered him up tremendously.”

Rivers was represented by Frank Tuarog, and Schaab by Devin McLaughlin.

Conviction on one count of burglary, a felony, carries a prison term of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $1,000. The students each told police that other students had also been in the building that night, and that drinking parties were common there. Police found no other students on the premises when they arrived, at about 2 a.m. April 3, according to UVM police affidavits filed with the court.

All three students waived their Miranda rights after they were taken into custody, police said. Rivers and Schaab said they didn’t cause any damage, and Levenson said none of his friends were responsible for the damage, according to the affidavits. A breath test for Rivers showed a blood alcohol content of 0.139 percent, police said.

Levenson told police in an interview that the three had been drinking in his dorm room before they went with others to Redstone Lofts, where people began to smash things. He told police that he did not know the other people’s names. He also said he had lost his dorm key in the complex.

Initially, police responded when a resident in one of the nearby Redstone campus dorms called to say she could hear glass breaking in the Redstone Lofts area. Another dorm resident interviewed later said she heard yelling and smashing sounds, and a third said he had heard the same sounds but ignored them because he knew students commonly went to Redstone Lofts to drink.

Officer Mark Schwartz stated in an affidavit that as he walked toward the site from the south, “I could hear glass breaking and things being smashed.” He saw a large box that was pushed out a window and that landed on the ground about 30 feet in front of him.

UVM Police Chief Lianne Tuomey said Tuesday police are still processing evidence from the scene. She could not say whether that work might lead to more citations. Investigating police found a well-defined hand print on a hatchway door to a roof that did not come from any of the three arrested students.

The affidavits include photographs of the soles of shoes that police said the arrestees had been wearing and photographs of footprints in damaged rooms that police believe match those soles. In one of the apartments where windows had been broken, police recovered a key to Levenson’s and Schaab’s dorm room.

The Redstone Lofts complex, located just east of UVM’s Redstone residence halls, is being developed by Redstone Commercial Group. Two buildings connected by a breezeway will offer 144 apartments, at market rates, to upperclassmen and graduate students. The 403-bed complex, scheduled to open Aug. 1, will be privately owned and managed.

When officers arrived and entered the north wing, they saw a trail of blood. Schwartz reported that he encountered Levenson and Schaab in the breezeway and took them into custody. Schaab had a T-shirt wrapped around a blood-covered hand. Schaab later said he cut his hand by falling on broken glass, police said.

Officer Robert Bailey found Rivers, carrying two fire extinguishers, in a stairwell and took him into custody. Rivers had cuts on his hands, too, police said.

The damage was mostly at the southern end of the north wing, police said. Sheetrock walls were gouged, a gallon of paint was spilled on the floor, and on the south wing’s roof, eight air handler units had been tipped over. An unopened can of Bud Light was found on the roof.

On the ground outside the north wing, beneath 15 broken windows, was debris that included kitchen cabinets, fire extinguishers, a toilet bowl and a sink.

The university has its own judicial process, which can result in sanctions ranging from a warning letter to permanent expulsion.

“Our process does not need to wait for a court disposition to proceed,” said Annie Stevens, associate vice president for student and campus life, in an email. “In some criminal cases, however, students and their attorneys ask to postpone the UVM student conduct process until the criminal process has concluded. We do not know if that will happen in this case.

“The students will have a campus judicial hearing at the proper time. If they are found responsible for violating university policy, then appropriate sanctions will be imposed.”